The present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for the production of an improved medicated vapor which is useful in the treatment of respiratory diseases and conditions, skin and eye diseases and conditions, and breath odors. In the preferred form of the invention, specially conditioned steam and a vaporized medicament or treating agent are combined in a new and novel manner to establish a highly useful and effective medication or treating agent for use in the treatment of a variety of respiratory, including mucous membrane, diseases and conditions in a simple, sterile, and effective manner, the resulting medication or treating agent further being capable of effectively masking undesirable respiratory odors commonly referred to as "bad breath" for an extended and satisfactory period of time.
In substance, the preferred form of the invention, as will be described hereinafter, involves the forming of a medicated or treating agent fog comprised of a steam generated water vapor carrier having injected there into and thoroughly admixed therewith a medicament or treating agent of various types and designed for treatment of various diseases and conditions, the injection and admixing of the vapor and medicament or treating agent being brought about under controlled conditions and being made available for use by inhalation or other appropriate modes in a substantially improved manner.
While the subject invention is fully adaptable for use in hospitals and the like, it is also adaptable for use in the home under conditions not requiring medical supervision. Various forms of generated steam vaporizers and cold water vapor mist generators, the latter known as nebulizers, have been used for many years and are currently being used in the treatment of respiratory congestion and the like both in the hospital and in the home. Steam vapor generators utilizing a discharge nozzle in the form of a relatively small size orifice directly associated with a medicament supply tube partially immersed in a liquid medicament whereby through negative pressure action the medicament is drawn upwardly through the supply tube into the steam jet constitute conventional equipment. A similar type of steam vaporizer differs only in that the ganerated steam is immediately passed through a chamber into direct contact with the medicament and the resulting vaporized mixture is discharged through a confined nozzle-like member for inhalation by the patient. In both of these types of widely used equipment, it has been found that the scope of use for various types of respiratory diseases and conditions is materially limited because a number of the most effective and desirable medicaments are temperature sensitive to an extent that undesirable modification or deterioration of the medicament will occur as a result of being subjected to the high temperature of the steam carrier regardless of the method under which the medicament is admixed with the steam. For example, derivatives and analogues of epinephrine, such as phenylephrine which is very effective in the treatment of nasal and sinus disorders as well as hay fever, will undergo chemical decomposition or undesirable change when subjected to high temperatures such as in the magnitude of 200.degree. F. It has been found that the aforementioned common type of steam vaporizers will operate at a temperature of from 210.degree. to 225.degree. F. at the end of the discharge with the at which point the steam is either being admixed withthe medicament or has already been admixed with the same. Actually, discharge temperatures can reach as high as 240.degree. F. depending upon the amount of pressure developed within the vaporizer. Adrenalin and its related compositions are also temperature sensitive in the manner aforementioned. Adrenalin and certain derivatives are widely used in connection with the treatment of asthma. Cortisone has been widely accepted as a treating agent for various skin conditions and eye problems and has more recently been found to provide beneficial effects in connection with lung diseases and related problems. Here again, cortisone is heat sensitive and cannot effectively be used in conventional types of steam vaporizers.
It is not uncommon at the present time for persons suffering from emphysema, for example, to make rather frequent trips to a hospital for treatment under supervision. The primary reasons for such supervised treatment is that it is important to maintain close control over the dosage of the medicament used, that it is important to guard against bacterial infection, and that the type of equipment available for such treatment is too expensive and complicated in operation for convenient home use.
Hand held and operated spray devices, either of the aerosol or aspirator type, which are available for private and independent use by persons suffering from various types of respiratory ailments, have not been found to be completely satisfactory even though in certain instances such devices are capable of dispensing a metered or properly measured dosage. Such sprays do not provide the requisite deep lung penetration for at least two reasons. First, it has been found that the average person cannot consistently and effectively coordinate deep lung inhalation with the manual operation of the spray device. Still further, by confining the discharge end of the spray device in the nostrils or mouth, the more immediate areas of the nostrils and mouth are possibly heavily treated preferentially to the more remote passages and particularly the deep lung portions. Thus, uniform treatment under metered dosage conditions is most difficult, if not impossible, to attain.
In more recent years it has been more popular to make use of cold water vapor nebulizers in the treatment of respiratory ailments. This type of apparatus is simpler in construction and operation than steam vaporizer apparatus. However, it has now been established that a number of undesirable effects result from the use of such cold water nebulizers. For example, the nebulizers provide an aseptic steam which includes bacteria, fungus, etc. already existing in the available water supply. Specifically, it has been found that cold steam may actually worsen asthma by reason of dispersing fungi in the lungs. Ultrasonic nebulization therapy should be used with caution because the water mist might cause a temporary deterioration in the mechanical lung function as well as a derangement in blood gas levels.